Mitch Miller

Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010)[1][2] was an American oboist, conductor, recording producer and recording industry executive. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor, and A&R (artists and repertoire) man. Miller was one of the most influential people in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of A&R at Columbia Records and as a best-selling recording artist with an NBC television series, Sing Along with Mitch. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in the early 1930s, Miller began his musical career as an accomplished player of the oboe and English horn, making numerous highly regarded classical and popular recordings, but he is best remembered as a choral conductor on television and as a recordings executive.